Saturday, January 31, 2009

1.places
2.again and again
3.drawing board
4.next door
5.eyes of the people
6.settled true
7.far from my hands
8.spelling words
9.maybe not
10.fr i fl
11.what you bring

These guys were from California, and started off doing the straightedge thing in 1987. The band quickly progressed, playing melodic hardcore with a singer who could actually sing. For some truers this might be to melodic, and "wimpy". I don't know... to me it has so much spirit and power that it has always made me feel really fucking good when I listened to it. This record always puts me in a great mood. My favorite song on here is fr i fl...such great guitar playing. The band only put out two records, the 7" ep (which is also up on this blog), and this LP. Think Minor Threat meets "trial" era Verbal Assault.
This one goes out to my good buddy Kurt Dittmer from back in the day, with whom I used to hang with in San Ramon California. I recently got back in touch with Kurt after prolly 15 years. He was always a great friend. One of the first things he asked me when we first chatted again was about this LP, if I still had it, and if there was a way he could hear it again. Here you go buddy!
Back in the late 80's We would chill at his Moms place smoking buds, and listening to all these straightedge bands that his buddies from Unit Pride were recommending to him. They turned us onto the Reason To Believe 7"... By the time this LP came out I had moved back to Albany, but we had both kept up with the band and were listening to it on different coasts, and talking about how great it was on the phone. A true classic, and another record that I own multiple copies of for some weird reason.

Friday, January 30, 2009

This is another record that I put out early in the Y2K. The record never had a title, but reviewers, etc started calling it Congested because that was the first song on the 7", and this was the bands 2nd ep that was self titled. Last In Line were from Western Massachusetts, and had a pretty big following locally. I quickly became friends with Mikey, and then DJ. A bunch of Albany punk kids had problems with these guys politics, and called them "questionable". I say now what I said then... Whatever. The bands prior releases are much better in my opinion, sounding a lot more raw, and pissed. This is my least fav of all LIL stuff, but it is still cool as hell, and proud to have been a part of it all.
The first time I saw these guys was in a Abandoned Garage/car service station in Massachusetts. They opened for Nine Shocks Terror(who were from Ohio). I went with my Pal Mark Telfian and maybe Devon Cahill? The 75 kids packed in this garage went completely bonkers, just acting like maniacs, throwing whatever was not nailed down. I was stupid enough to bring 4 boxes of 7"s, a crate of LPs and a box of CDs as I was doing my distro back then. Suddenly a full gallon of sugary, blue, gross, sticky bug juice got tossed in the air by a kid with no brain. It landed everywhere in the garage including on all my records. There were like 10 kids trying to dry off my records as the band proceeded to play, and kids were dancing like crazy. For a decade after that you could still find some blue on certain records in my distro. Enjoy...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

1.Legions of Hell
2.Evil Night
3.Devil's Church
4.The Day After
5.Black Time
6.Last Night
7.Fall Out

No no silly, not the Japanese hardcore band called Warhead... This is the real deal from Belgium. The obscure band formed in 1981, and only put out two records that I know of, their debut "speedway" from 1985, and this one which I like a lot more. Of course we all love bands called warhead, how could we not? Look at the imagery, so fucking metal, so fucking cool! I mean its definitely not what one will expect when sinking their teeth into this speed metal classic. I of course was ready to hear something akin to Venom, Bathory, or Sodom, not so... these spandex wearing, feathered hair combing puffs play straight up speed metal that reminds me of Helloween, Running Wild, and Living Death. The music is wicked catchy, and stays at pretty much one fast speed, with a guitar tone that is perfect, While the vox Sound like the singer is in a 2000 foot cavern screaming for his mommy. Sometimes reminds me of Biff the vocalist of Saxon. Seriously sick stuff, although "last night" is a total borefest(the last two songs actually). Black Time sounds a lot like a early Maiden song.
My old friend/band mate Kenny D who played drums back in the day made me aware of this shit. Kenny was a true friend for sure. I saw him in California about 3 years ago for the first time in like 15 years. Anyone who has read or followed this blog knows that Kenny was a few years younger than I was, and he and his family literally saved me from the streets of San Francisco in like 1987-88(I was getting into meth at this time). Kenny lived in Livermore California, and moved me out there to his folks place in the 'burbs where I got my act together(well sorta). His parents gave me a car, got me a great job, and Kenny and I would jam crossover metal in his garage. I moved out of my Apartment in the middle of the day, leaving my landlord wondering where I was, and what happened to the 1 year of rent that I hadn't paid. Oh well... I was young. Listening to Warhead always takes me back to Livermore, and hanging, smoking and drinking with my best friend Kenny.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I recently pulled this one out after listening to one of the bands Christmas songs on some silly UK Christmas punk compilation(Have a Rotten Christmas). Peace force is total Adolescents worship mixed with an tinge of some street punk oi. This is the bands second release. They later released an LP on the Rock o Rama label(famous for putting out Skrewdriver records). Dudes formed during the original first wave of punk in 1978 under the name Vermin.
I remember I initially bought this record in the mid 80's because I'd heard the guitarist replaced Bones in Discharge. I'm shocked I didn't destroy this after seeing Discharge at the Farm in S.F. in 85-86. They were playing all the cock rock stuff they'd wrote and recorded. It was terrible, but funny as hell to watch. They were booed off the stage with punks throwing beer bottles, etc at them. Seriously like 800 kids yelling "play the old shit"! "play the old shit"! DRI, DRI, DRI(because DRI had just played before them). The high light to this show was watching the members of DRI walking through the crowd with a full garbage can, throwing it at Discharge as they were playing. The band pretty much ran off the stage crying. At any rate, listening to this Skeptix ep for some reason reminds me of those times.

Born to lose
I've worked most of my life.
I gained nothing from the dole.
But I kept my point of view.
I never wanted nothing from you.

You fill people full of shit
To get your votes for you.

I don't want your political scene.
I've got better things to do.

Born to lose, I've got the right to choose.
Right to choose!

You only show people the good side of you.
You never show them the bad.
The things you do for the public
Are the things you really want yourself.

Your lies, deceits, and your cheats
But as soon as we've voted for you
We're just some cunts who've got to pay.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

If you went to hardcore shows in the late 80's at all in Albany NY or even Connecticut then you probably got to see Beyond more than once. These were Great times for sure. It seemed like every kid in Albany went to hardcore shows back then, whether they were sporting a bad mullet or not. The shows were always packed and there was sorta like an Albany NY Vs. Troy NY vibe going on. Seemed The Albany kids were the punk hardcore kids, while the Troy heads had long hair and dug more metal sty lings of underground music. This is from an outsiders view, as I was only seeing shows here in the mid-late 80's when I would come home to Albany to visit family from California. One of these shows included me getting to see Beyond. It was the first time I think I'd met Brian from Glee Club, Roger from Brain Tattoo, and Buddy from Substance. People I later ended up becoming friends with after moving home again. Albany way supportive of the straight edge scene, and Beyond were part of that for sure. Watching the pile ons, and finger pointing, and moshing was always cool to see at these shows.
When I recently broke this demo out again after not listening to it for twenty years, I didn't think it had aged to well. As I listened on I realized just how awesome these dudes were for the time. You could hear the influences of Youth Of Today, Minor Threat and even a bit of Iron Maiden at times. Tom Beyond the guitarist was sorta looked up to by many of the hardcore and even some metal meat heads. His guitar playing was pretty original for the time period I guess. This demo definitely takes me back to Dave Stein's Albany NY hardcore shows. The song "what awaits us" really starts off sounding a lot like Supertouch's "searching for the light".

Monday, January 12, 2009

It's been a while since I've posted anything, my apologies to those who follow this blog, and support it with their comments/e mails. The holidays and work have really had me locked down and kicked my ass.

China White were a metal band from the Albany NY area. The band played a nwobhm style of heavy metal. These dudes hold a very special place in my heart because of the influence guitarist Henry McFarren had on me in 1983-84ish. I first met him randomly at a guitar shop in the Albany area when I was about 16. Henry was in his early 20's(and I thought he was so old...doh!). After talking to him a few times, and realizing he was wicked cool I decided I would take some guitar lessons from him because I sucked at guitar pretty badly back then. Back then I either hitch hiked or bummed rides because I didn't have a license or a car. At any rate my mom would drop me off most the time at Henry's crib at Valley View Apartments, she'd hit the book store or something while waiting for me. I'd spend the first half hour looking at his old Kerrang/metal maniac zines,drooling over his metal collection, drinking beer, and getting him stoned. Henry would finally ask me if there was a particular song I wanted to learn. I'd have a Cirith Ungol, Rods, Trouble or Riot song in mind, he'd pop the record on his turntable and figure it out in like 3.5 mins. He'd then proceed to have the patience to show me in about 20 mins how the song was played. These were good fucking times for me as a youth. The dude seriously turned me on to so much underground metal...
I can recall seeing these guys at Chucky Cheese's and even a battle of the bands with StoneHenge. One of my early band mates (Tony Fisher) who I jammed with ended up in China White down the road, that was sort of weird, but cool as hell.
I lost touch with Henry when I moved out to the Bay Area. Dude was/still is a fucking metal trooper and even still sports long locks making him the longest living hesher in the Albany area. I heard He was having some health issues, and I wish him all the best. He's the dude pictured with the single that I have in this post.
Unless you love metal I doubt you'll be to interested in this obscure gem. Two great Nwobhm songs with really raw shitty production that makes the record still kick ass even today. Both songs clock in at over 5 mins each. There was never a picture sleeve for the ep.